Thursday, 11 May 2017

Totally FREE Grass Roots Football Club

We want to do something revolutionary. In every industry the price only ever goes up. But for young children who want to play football I want the price to come down to zero.

For next season we will launch a new football club on the Luton & Dunstable border's as a test. Can we do it? Can we deliver a 'higher end' brand of football. An almost professional approach with first class standards. Qualified coaches coaching with a one club ethos that is looking to develop players in a challenging, safe, fun environment where creativity and smiling is embraced not stifled. We will do this and the boldest thing is we will deliver this with no cost to parents.

Why?

New 3G pitch locked Saturday Mornings

Why would we want to do this? Is it important? Well in my view it is and i think I have enough experience to justify this. Ive coached Fiitball and Football now in over 100 schools and over 10,000 children all over England and in a wide range of communities. I have had the great pleasure of working in schools where there are children with all sorts of difficulties and challenges and there is a statement I have heard many times. On occasion you get the sense that a boy or girl is showing real talent with technique, understanding, enthusiasm and desire for sport and so I ask the question. "Do you play Football outside of school"? Many say they are with a club, that's great! Some say they are with an professional academy and I always follow that up with "How many times a week do you train"? Most say "once" on a rare occasion they say "three or four". I always say well done to both but in my own mind I'm simply gauging if they are in a next level development centre or actually an academy signed player. But there is a crucial answer that if I had heard once would be too many, but I've heard it several times. "I don't play for a team, we cant afford it". I know its hard for grass roots teams. They have to pay for kit, facilities, ref's, league fees, fines, FA admin, training, equipment etc. Nothing is free, so they try their best to gain sponsorship and the rest we all know as subs comes from the parents. To think that football has become a pay2play culture is simply outrageous and something we must address. The FA said it wanted more than 500 pitches by 2020 like that will cure grass roots football. I commend them for investment and who doesn't want better pitches? But some children simply cannot afford to play on them and some pitches remain locked in off peak times and empty with no concessions. Surely that means we might miss out on talent?

Lets look at Academy football and the investment required from parents.

If you have a child playing in 2nd tier level football, like a development centre. Then of course you will have transport cost but on top of that, some development centres actually charge for this. I know of fees ranging from £400 to £900 per year for the privilege of having your child in the 'system'. Now I've got no issue with any organisation providing a good service and someone paying for that service. That's reality. If I wanted my children to learn guitar, I would have to pay. If the product is good and my child enjoys it and their is clear signs of progression than I have no issue with paying the fee. My only point is, this certainly again prices out certain members of our society who simply would not be able to afford that fee. They cant afford to be recognised as talented and then invited to be developed.
But lets say that somehow they have leapfrogged grass roots and the host of development centres and they have been signed by an academy. Great news. Or is it? We all know the staggering statistics that are heavily stacked against the player making it all the way through to the first team so what would be the cost to the parents? Lets attempt some numbers.
Players are expected to train 3-4 times per week and then attend a game which could be at home or a long distance away. If the player is in foundation phase U9-U11 they could live an hour away from the training ground. Older children a bit further. Most people could do around 40 miles in an hour. On average fuel consumption figures I think £10 for a round trip is 'conservative'. Not taking into account a long away game drive, so that's circa £50 per week. So its reasonable and fair on that basis to assume that the financial commitment from the parents is around £200-£300 per month. That's without any loss of earnings for leaving work early and also assuming the parent has a car. I knew children that were travelling miles on public transport and in taxis. So actually, the celebration of signing full academy forms could be quickly dampened by the possibility that you may need to find over £2,000 per year to support that progress.

With this in mind I easily conclude that this wonderful game is pricing young talent out of football. Football talent cannot discriminate on any basis. We already know that the level of performance in international tournaments is not acceptable or even enjoyable. If you exclude talent based on money will we improve that in the long term? A game that has constantly thrown up world class players that have previously lived a life of poverty playing football in streets for free. Now I'm not suggesting that talented children cannot come from wealthy parents and can only exist from high rise council flats. Not for one second am I suggesting that. But what I am saying is that we are not putting them two children on the same pitch to give them equal opportunities. If we truly want the best players in world cups then we need to give everyone a chance to display there talents and widen the talent pool.

The Premier League Cash Cow

I don't believe in criticising footballers for what they earn. They have worked hard to get to where they are, well most have anyway. If somebody is willing to pay that, then fair play. I heard a lot of criticism after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had been claimed in the press to be earning £367,000 a week plus a staggering £140k + goal bonus. But its difficult to criticise something we contribute to. I have got Skysports and BT Sport so I'm feeding this animal. Is it obscene? Yes of course? Do I think children's nurses and doctors wages in comparison is a disgrace. Yes! People do so many great life saving jobs for a fraction and I heard radio talk shows of people describing that, but I wanted to ask. "Have you got SkySports"? You see people worldwide are not tuning in to watch those fantastic public servants, they are paying and tuning into watch the Premier League and its superstars are now far removed from the reality we all live in. But I don't begrudge them. If someone offered me £20million a year to do something I loved, football, I wouldn't turn it down on morality and principle. I don't think any of you would either.

I'm also not one to say that these pay owe anyone. Its there money, if they give to charities and vulnerable, sick and desperate people, that's there choice. Some do, I'm sure most do and which is commendable because they don't have to and rightly so. It may also be worth considering that they also contribute to the public purse in a month what many of us would take a decades to contribute. So perhaps the cynics need a wider consideration when feeling a bit resentful.

What I will say though with passion is this. These guys are in England earning this money and the gulf between them and the grass roots game is widening with every new millionaire they make. These players will no doubt take there fortune back home eventually as circa two thirds are foreign players in the top clubs and I ask, what have they contributed to our game at the bottom? Yes we tuned into watch them and thanks for the entertainment. But you made that fortune in England and we should be taking action to insist they do because football is not a charity of choice. Its the game and the country that provided you with this huge earning spell so, I think its reasonable for a levy to be imposed to help get these young players in the window and back onto pitches at no cost. We could never make that happen though? Why not, if its in contracts from tomorrow lets say. There are few footballers contracts over five years in term so in five years I suggest they would all have the levy imposed. Now let me give you some examples and numbers.

Going on last years published figures 2016/2017
£1.38Bn Was spent on transfer fees
£174m was spent on agents fees
£1.933Bn was spent on players wages.

That's a staggering £3.487Bn spent by clubs

If the FA imposed a 1% Bottom up Grass Roots ring fenced fund and the tax office allowed this pre deductions that would create £34.8Million
Grass roots teams typically cost circa £3000 per year to run. So this fund would create a staggering £11,623 totally FREE football teams and these numbers are on the Premier League alone.

Or
If you said to every player, the next contract you sign has got the new FA rule imposed. Of your 52 week salary, one week has to be given back to the game at grass roots. If you was a foreign player, you might begrudge this. But tough. Reality is, the club/agent will probably negotiate the extra to cover it anyway. If this was done five years ago all contract's would now include it and based on 2016-2017 £1.933Bn was spent on players wages in the premier league alone. My grass roots levy would raise £37million. That could fund over 12,000 grass roots football teams for FREE. Meaning more players can play without restrictions. Equal opportunity = more players = more realistic competition = better players in the system = better players coming through?

In the Meantime...

Between the Premier League, The FA and government its hard to know if anyone has enough minerals to tackle this and go for such a simple but challenging system of change so we have taken our own innovative steps. Our football club will be every bit professional and we will look to progress players. No parents will be the manager or coach. It will be our own people working on a syllabus and ethos we have created based on our experience of what works in terms of successful professional achievement but also what works in terms of creating an enjoyable environment for happy football memories. We have some innovative new ideas of ways we will fund this. It will require buy in from the pro clubs and we are also in talks with some key partners who want to help us achieve the impossible and provide Free extra curricular football including organised weekly competitive games.

Unfortunately mortgage companies are not great at listening to great stories of people trying to be community changers so of course the funds need to come from some-where. So if you think you can help, please get in touch and we will share the plan we have to make this happen. But one overriding position will not change. Parents will not be asked for subs.
Get on board at www.2touchfootball.co.uk and if your looking for a new team or have a child from any background who you think would like the opportunity to join please get in touch.

Already we have had a parent tell us that for reasons of course we wont share, her some has not been able to play in a team for three years. She was so happy to see our advert. He has began training with us and guess what. He was excellent! That's why we are doing this!

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